“I’ve been briefed a little,” Alex said gently.
Brianna looked resolved. Her shoulders dropped in shame.
“Hey, no judgment from me, I promise,” Alex said. “Family is tricky. I know that from experience.”
She looked back up at him and smiled. “Thank you.” She looked at Brock. “But I’m not in danger. My broth…Brian is in custody and he’d have no reason to come after me for anything anyway. We don’t get along, but we don’t hate each other or anything. And the sergeant said the car wasn’t intentional.”
“You noticed Jerold wasn’t here tonight?”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t at dinner last night if you’ll recall. It’s not mandatory, and maybe he felt weird about coming.”
Brock shook his head.So naïve. “A man like that has no shame. Look, I’d feel better if, for the time being, you’ve got someone protecting you round the clock. For now, that’ll be Valkyrie, and after my meeting, it’ll be me, too.”
“You?” Even in the dim glow from the restaurant lights, he could see her blush as she glanced again at Alex.
“Yup. I’ve been assigned as your personal bodyguard.”Assigned by myself, but who’s keeping track?Kyle did say he wouldn’t keep Brock away from Brianna, after all.
“So, you’ll be coming back to my apartment? For the night?” Again, that adorable self-conscious glance at Alex, who was keeping his features perfectly neutral. Brock owed the man a bottle of Scotch.
“I hope you have a comfy couch,” Brock said.
She finally smiled. “It’s not bad.” She glanced back down at the dog. “So, Alex, can you show me how to drive her?”
Alex laughed. “Sure, I can. I’ll take you home, get her situated, and teach you some basic commands.” He looked at Brock. “Sound good?”
“Perfect. I’ll get through this meeting as quickly as I can.” He cupped Brianna’s cheek. “See you soon, gorgeous.”
* * *
Kyle, Brock, Jake, and Wolf were sitting in the great room at the ranch. Arden, Caroline, and Rachael were enjoying the cool night out on the back deck. Camo trotted back and forth between the great room and the deck, obviously not happy that the humans had decided to separate into two groups and make his job of guarding them and receiving pets for his work that much harder.
“We heard the report over the police scanner,” Kyle said. Camo trotted up and plopped his head on Kyle’s knee and the Pup petted him absently. “What exactly went down at the coffee shop?”
Brock gave the group a quick rundown of the day’s events, minus the kiss in the parking lot after dinner. That memory was for him alone to savor.
“Poor Brianna,” Kyle said. “I’m understanding her more and more. Do you think there’s any connection between the car theft and her brother showing up, besides concern?”
Brock shrugged. “They’ve been estranged for a while. I can tell you Brianna was shocked that he showed up all concerned about her. But then again, he thought she was in the hospital.”
Wolf leaned forward, concern plain on his face. “Who told him that and why?”
“We didn’t get that far. Small town, could be a game of telephone, and by the time the gossip got to him, he thought she’d been hit.”
“Could be that,” Wolf said. “Could be more.” He looked at Kyle. “You got Tex on this yet?”
“Sure as shit I do,” Kyle answered.
“Tex?” Jake asked.
“Friend of ours.” Kyle pointed between himself and Wolf. “Guy can find out anything about anything. In the meantime, they’re holding Brian on disorderly conduct, carrying concealed without a permit, POWPO, and resisting arrest. Guns don’t just drop out of the sky and land in the pants of scumbags, so the sergeant is running a check on the gun.” Kyle smiled. “And so is Tex. If it was previously used in a crime, Brian’s even further up shit creek.”
“POWPO, huh?” Brock said. “What previous felony did Brian commit?”
“Felon-ies, my brother. Fraud, attempted robbery. Domestic violence.”
“Oof,” Brock said, his opinion of Brian was already in the gutter, but it slipped right on down into the sewer at the words domestic violence. The thought of this man being Brianna’s twin boggled his mind. And yet, he’d come to make sure his sister was okay. There was no mistaking the fear and worry on his face. “People are damn complicated.”
Kyle’s cell buzzed and he put it on speaker. “Tex, speak of the devil. You’re on speaker and talking to myself, Wolf, Jake Collins, and Brock Jones. Whatcha got, brother?”
